SafeHouse

The SafeHouse is one of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's (literal) hidden gems. Located in a back alley through a non-descript door, you're greeted by a solitary agent with one simple request; what's the password? If you can pass this test, you'll be ushered through a secret bookcase door into Milwaukee's most unique bar. Littered with everything from kitschy spy memorabilia and James Bond movie posters, to actual historic artifacts like a chunk of the Berlin wall, you'd be hard-pressed to find another place anything like this.

Through numerous client conversation, we set out to create a unique brand that embraced the spy theme while also presenting intrigue and sex-appeal. This was one of the most difficult yet successful photoshoots I've ever been involved in, but the end result elevated the ad campaign and produced a result that our client raved about.

The first option presented here is the final version that the client signed off on, which is now running in the Milwaukee market. I also wanted to show the other two options that were presented as I thought they were both just as strong. In the end, I would have been happy with any of the choices they were given.

White Lodging

In early 2016, White Lodging was looking to launch a new creative strategy to rejuvenate their internal hiring and retention. These are just two of many concepts that were presented.

Race for the Cure 2015

Never underestimate the "human element". The common desire to help others. The selfless sacrifices made for complete strangers. Most of us are familiar with Susan G. Komen and the impact it's had on breast cancer research and awareness. So when concepting the idea behind the 2015 Race for the Cure campaign, I really wanted to capture that "human element". Not only of the people who race and contribute to the cause every year, but that of the survivors as well. The reason they're racing. The strength they've shown through their struggles and the right to be called a "fighter".

It was the courage of these survivors that I wanted to exhibit to inspire others to contribute to the cause and join in the annual race. One of the most inspiring moments in the process of creating this campaign for me was being able to meet the survivors and hear their stories. This isn't the type of campaign you use models on. These have to be real people. My hope was that they would inspire others in the same way they inspired me.

When working with the regional chapter of Susan G. Komen, I had the added challenge of creating a design that could be handed off to their internal team. Because the majority of their internal team consists of volunteers and designers of varying skill levels I made these designs modular. This meant that every element needed to be an individual asset that could be manipulated independently of other assets. This ensured that anyone with basic photoshop knowledge could manipulate the designs into any format desired. The work displayed here are the initial pieces that were passed onto their internal team.

Fuck It. Why Not?

Inspiration comes from weird places at times. As I sat around one evening, I had a strong urge to design something. What that was was fleeting, but the desire was not. As it continued to nag away at me, despite no clear direction, I finally just sat down and said "fuck it, why not." That's all it took to send me down this rabbit hole.

The Sound of Animals Fighting

I've always been fascinated by concert poster art. I've even started amassing a small collection of my own. As someone who devours new music like Kobayashi at a hot dog eating contest, it was only natural to want to design one of my own.

For this piece I chose the band "The Sound of Animals Fighting." A noise-rock collective of largely anonymous and mysterious members. An occasionally political band, I wanted to play on their name while making a statement of the often times absurdity of war; How men and women kill complete strangers for a cause they may or may not believe in solely for duty of country.

Gold Rush

Originally intended as a one-off holiday gift card promotion, the Gold Rush concept is currently being looked at as a full-blown Loyalty Card program.

My initial idea behind this was to increase gift card sales by offering up a "golden ticket" scenario. And yes, that is the Willy Wonka golden ticket I'm referencing. Brainstorming sessions can get weird, but you never know where a random thought might lead you. By offering up a bonus card with every gift card sold, you're increasing the incentive to buy them as gifts. You then increase that incentive even more by offering the consumer the chance to win a grand prize package. It was a fun, simple approach to increase overall sales of gift cards. I'm excited to see where it goes with their Loyalty Card program.

Putzmeister

Hotel Zamora

The Hotel Zamora is a beautiful Mediterranean inspired boutique hotel located in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Originally intended as luxury condos, the collapse of the housing market half way through construction created one of the most unique hotels in the area. A fact that the client wanted to permeate through every piece of the hotel collateral.

This wasn't just any hotel; This had to be a seductive beacon along the gulf coast. Echoes of high fashion and royalty. A hotel with the illusion of the upper echelon, yet affordable to even the most budget conscious consumer.

Unfortunately, this project never made it past the initial concepting phase, but the client was very pleased nonetheless. One concept would have used the stylized "Z" to spell out various "seductive" words. The other concept would have framed the hotel as somewhat of a mythical destination as if it were foretold in an ancient prophecy.

Master

Verge

In 2010, Milwaukee held the inaugural Verge Music Festivel. Conceived as an experimental offshoot of Summeriest, the Midwest's largest music festival, Verge would be a two-day event focused on attracting a younger demographic by featuring popular artists in the indie/alternative genres. To engage the community, the festival founders held a contest to not only name the event, but to create the brand and identity that would surround it.

I was personally not a fan of what would eventually become the Verge branding, but I liked the name and the ideas it conveyed. My take on the Verge branding is visually inspired by "Headphone Monkey" by the artist Steez, and conceptually inspired by experiments that were done on monkeys. In these experiments it was determined that monkeys didn't care for music unless it was specifically modeled after their own vocal calls and patterns. I thought this struck an amusing parallel to what the festival founders hoped to achieve with Verge by attracting a younger demographic with bands catered to their interests.

Set Yourself Free

One of my favorite unexpected perks of design is just how therapeutic it can be. An artistic expression of your emotions or just a way to escape to a different place, design is the perfect tool. This piece came about after a particularly trying time for me. Stress is a part of all our lives, and in advertising deadlines can seem like impossible feats. It's important to find a healthy outlet for that stress. This just happens to be mine.

Mt. Everest

Why did I design this? I have no idea. But, do I need a reason? I randomly found a photo I liked of Mount Everest and wanted to design something with it. I had fun doing it and was happy with the end result. That's all that really mattered to me.

Mirror's Edge

I've always enjoyed video games. Some of my earliest memories are of me sitting criss-cross applesauce in front of my parents giant tube TV playing Super Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zelda. Despite the fact that I don't have as much time to play these days, I still enjoy gaming and the variety of stories the medium allows.

Mirror's Edge is a game about constant movement. Set high into a city skyline and rooted in the world of parkour, it offered a unique play style never seen before. One of the things that I admired about the art style of the game was how the world it was set in was largely set in shades of white and gray, only using splashes of color as visual cues to drive the action forward.

I wanted to capture that sense of constant movement here. The splash of red conveying the constant danger the title character faced. The duality of the life and death decisions around every corner.

The Lion King

Sometimes you create things just for fun. Having recently seen the stage performance of The Lion King, I wanted to challenge myself by creating a Lion King emblem of my own. I was so happy with the final outcome, I'd almost consider getting this tattooed.

Myriad Pro: Typography in an Urban Landscape

Created for a class assignment, I chose Myriad for how prevalent it is, like Helvetica, in the cultural landscape. Most notably used by Apple Inc. at the time, it was a font that many were familiar with, even if they didn't quite realize it.

My goal was to create an urban ambiance through the use of color and texture, and by implying movement through the use of angles and lines.

PJ's Plumbing

Creating identities is always a fun challenge. Do you veer away from clichés or embrace them with reckless abandon? When it comes to plumbing businesses what could be more cliché than a water droplet? In the case of PJ's Plumbing I chose to embrace that cliché as it offered me the opportunity to take a fun approach with his initials. Out of a handful of alternate options from myself and other designers, this was the ultimate winner.

Still in use by PJ today, the logo visually illustrates his service through the use of that water droplet. Juxtaposed against that logo I used a slab-serif font that's subtly reminiscent of plumbing pipes and their connective joints.

SSADH

SSADH is a rare degenerative disorder. When I created this logo for the SSADH Association a few years back, I wanted to illustrate the degenerative nature of the disorder through the gradual degeneration of the colors in the logo.